Urban Music 2000 Blog - Music News, Celebrity News, & Gossip

Now that selling song downloads through video games has achieved liftoff, the business appears poised to rocket into orbit.
In 2008, “Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero” users downloaded more than 50 million tracks from the games. Game-linked song downloads are expected to surge in the coming year as the music-simulation games continue to extend their reach [...]

Motown has always been about more than music. As the soul empire turns 50 on Monday, its founders are looking back at its brand of music dubbed the “Motown sound” that remains popular today and the record company’s role in breaking down racial barriers in America.
Founded in 1959 in Detroit by songwriter and entrepreneur Berry [...]

Embattled rapper DMX faces at least 90 days in jail after pleading guilty on Tuesday to drug, theft and animal cruelty charges, Arizona prosecutors said.
The rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, pleaded to three felony charges and one misdemeanor count in Maricopa County Superior Court under a deal to settle three criminal cases against him. He also agreed not [...]

Rapper/producer John Forte, who worked closely with the Fugees before being sent to prison on drug charges, had his sentence commuted Monday (November 24) by President George W. Bush.
The musician was arrested at Newark International Airport in 2000 for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to distribute. Police discovered Forte with two briefcases [...]

He woos. He seduces. And then he celebrates — but with sincerity. That was the equation when Usher’s One Night Stand Ladies Only tour rolled in for a Wednesday “hump day” — appropriately enough — performance in Detroit, where the multi-platinum R&B singer, actor and activist had both the Motown and some dudes on his [...]

Singer Michael Jackson has handed over the title on Neverland Ranch to a company made up of himself and the firm that holds his loan on the property.
Property records showed on Thursday that Jackson this week filed a grant deed on the ranch, and that the new owner of the 2,700-acre ranch in Santa Barbara [...]

Soul icon Lionel Richie has recruited R&B singer Akon and rapper Ne-Yo for his upcoming studio album.
“Just Go” is due out on February 17 via Island. The first single, “Good Morning,” has just been sent to urban adult-contemporary radio stations.
Both Akon and Ne-Yo share writing credits with Richie on the follow-up to 2006’s “Coming Home,” [...]

A reunion of the Jackson 5 is not quite as easy as “ABC.”
Michael Jackson denied on Thursday that he would take part in a reunion of the famed Motown singing group, a day after elder brother Jermaine said the faded pop star was on board.
“My brothers and sisters have my full love and support, and [...]

Police found the body on Monday of Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson’s 7-year-old nephew, who had been missing since Hudson’s mother and brother were slain last week.
Julian King’s body had been left in the back seat of a stolen car found abandoned on a Chicago street.
The discovery ended a search that began on Friday after [...]

Just like the “Seinfeld” episode where George wanted everyone to call him “T-Bone,” Beyonce Knowles would like to be known by a bold new name.
The R&B singer has christened herself “Sasha Fierce” for her new double album, “I Am … Sasha Fierce,” due in U.S. stores on November 18, and has released a lengthy justification [...]

Arguably the most powerful voice in Motown’s storied history has been silenced. Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs Jr. died Friday at his home in Detroit after a long series of health problems, including cancer and a stroke, that forced him to stop performing in 2000. He was 72.
Funeral arrangements were pending for Stubbs, who [...]

Making music just got easier. A Japanese game maker has teamed up with the nation’s leading mobile phone network carrier to enable users to play an orchestra with their fingertips.
Game manufacturer Taito has created the “Chokkan Classic” software for NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode Internet service that lets users to pick their instruments and the melody [...]

After just 14 months on Island Def Jam, Janet Jackson announced Monday (September 22) her departure from the label. According to Jackson’s publicist, the label agreed to dissolve its relationship with the artist at her request.
After a long stint with Virgin, Jackson inked a deal with Island in July 2007 and released her label [...]

Prince will release his first book, “21 Nights,” in October. The lush coffee table book of photographs depicts Prince during his 21 night-stand at London’s O2 Arena in 2007. Included with the book is a new CD of his music.
The photographs, which show Prince doing things such as lounging on a bed in his [...]

Yahoo Inc plans to open its online music site to feature information about songs and artists from outside services such as Apple Inc iTunes or Amazon.com, an executive said on Thursday.
“We are going to completely open up Yahoo Music in the next few weeks,” Scott Moore, the executive in charge of Yahoo’s media businesses, [...]